Despite Atlanta being one of the top cities for inbound and outbound freight in the U.S., the closure of Interstate 85 just north of the city will likely not affect rates in lanes to and from Atlanta, says DAT Marketing Director Ken Harper.
“I-85 is not a major truck lane through Atlanta,” says Harper. “The impact is going to be minimal to negligible.”
Through-truck traffic is required to use the city’s I-285 bypass, so the collapse of the overpass on I-85 in Atlanta doesn’t necessarily disrupt truckers’ routes. However, the concern has been that traffic diverted from I-85 will cause heavier congestion on the I-285 bypass. “The increase in traffic jams will slow freight entering and leaving the Atlanta market for the next few months,” Harper says. However, given warehousing locations and the city’s freight patterns, it’s likely only local truckloads will be impacted.
Harper notes that local truckload pricing has already seen an increase — $310 lump for a local load in the last seven days, compared to $282 from the prior 30 days. The yearly average is $255, Harper says.
